Ace Combat  Star Dust
by cHr0n0sPh3r3
Summary: AU. Mass effect was a leap forward for mankind, some people decided to take the long way. But they've reached a hostile galaxy, they must carve their own existence no matter the cost.
1. 20 Years ago

A/N - So. How d'ya do. Ace Combat and Mass Effect huh? I have no idea either, just going to post this to see how we go, if I get reviews I'll post more often, if not? Eh I'll just keep writing for kicks.

So yes Ahem, thanks to a recent bout of Ace Combat music I've decided on making a fic. With a twist of Mass effect. Or the other way around really, this is the intro simply, next is some actual story.

Mass effect had changed the galaxy for Humanity, made space travel practical where decades prior people were fussing over Jump Zero as the gateway into the final frontier.

They didn't know what was coming and the advent of mass effect had all but killed the advance of science in other fields. After all who needed rockets and jets with mass effect making everything so practical?

But for the nations of Osea, Yuktobania, Belka and Usea it was disastrous, the bleeding edge in aerospace design became the back burner as mass effect technology came to the head of the newly formed Alliance, to become the Systems Alliance. Those once great nations descended into obscurity with but a few people in space claiming their origins in those places anymore, however their leaders were not deterred, mass effect technology may have accelerated them to space but they wouldn't give up.

After all that these nations had gone through they refused to lie down and let some dusty old race direct their path. The four nations banded together, they called their new nation the Circum-Pacific Concordat, they would forge their own way to the stars.

Wars passed, new worlds were discovered and the CPC fell further into obscurity, however near end of the third decade Earth citizens started seeing something remarkable, the sleek, knife like shapes of the old world of aircraft returned to the skies.

In mere months these same craft were reported taking flight into space and returning without the aid of mass effect at all, days later enormous craft were seen taking flight into the stars, massive craft in the kilometres scale...

The Circum-Pacific Concordat had made their way into space on the backs of thirty years of development, using technology once thought unfeasible, the CPC launched its own space fleet to the vexation of the Systems Alliance.

Where had these people emerged from?

Why weren't they Systems Alliance members anyway?

What were the strange technologies they had come to space with?

Questions that found little answer as the newborn Concordat fleet initiated an gargantuan build up of energy before disappearing in flashes of light...

Plied for answers the CPC leadership simply said that they had launched an experimental expedition to find new worlds for the CPC to call their own, out in the Skyllian Verge, the Systems Alliance leadership was stunned.

Humans had twice made it to the starts but without the aid of mass effect technology?

But they moved fast, human or not the Skyllian verge was Systems alliance territory and they would, against popular belief protect their citizens and their homes...

Elysium was chosen for the base of Systems Alliance frigate patrols and from 2175 onwards they patrolled to repel a possible CPC invasion.

They would never have expected what happened next.


	2. Contact

**2175 AD - Space around Circum-Pacific Concordat Colony Keinork - Skyllian Verge space.**

First Lieutenant Kelyna Albert was burning through the atmosphere of the new Concordat colony of Keinork when the general alerts reached his ear through the communications channel, Alliance frigates had found the colony and were moving to blockade positions near the system's mass relay.

He acknowledged the message as he swept into low orbit over the glowing garden world of Keinork ducking across hundreds of kilometres in mere seconds, low orbit had a very thin atmosphere on Keinork so Albert could push his Su-121 'Swallow' Aerospace superiority fighter as fast as he wanted. Roaring through the sky over the luminous ground below Albert took time to have a look around, inverting his craft so he could watch the green, blue and occasional yellow wash by in a reel of colour and blurred texture.

Light bounced off the Swallow's two enormous engines mounted on the middles of the V-wings of the tail less design and Albert swore he would never fly anything faster after using the Swallow. It being speedy was an understatement, capable of achieving Mach 8 in normal atmospheric conditions the Swallow was an insane feat of engineering, so much so that in atmosphere the top speed had to be dialled back to about Mach 3 for operation that allowed for proper combat to take place.

That said Albert certainly didn't mind, the scenery below and the vastness of space looming overhead was enough to bring him back to the skies any day. As he cut a line through the atmosphere and back into high orbit he set his eyes on two other craft of the same design zipping from the dark side of the planet, trailing engine exhaust to join him, two of his five squadron mates Airman Leeshiy Vischek and Second Lieutenant Seela Davinport.

"Hey Kel, how's the view from the bright side?"

The cheery Osean accented voice of Seela piped into Albert's helmet as she pulled her Swallow alongside Albert's, clouds blasting past as they thrust out of Keinork's atmosphere. Seela was the squadron loud mouth, despite her attitude to superiors she demonstrated pride in her military honour in her everyday life.

Even at the cost of her own career.

"Green, looks pretty nice, beats that pasty white you see in Alliance cities any day!"

Albert replied nudging his fighter into the lead position, at which moment Leeshiy also spoke.

"So, Alliance found us huh? That why the brass on the Sand Island is so worried?"

Albert suppressed a snort at the natural Yuktobanian. Leeshiy on the other hand was a solid pragmatist, although he liked to partake in the idealism from time to time he was bit of a plum amongst newer pilots. However he was much liked by the Belkans who were staunch professionals, but still could enjoy the rivalries that such professionalism tended to breed.

Such was the life of 'Vichy' Vischek.

"Hardly, the only thing across the next few relays is Elysium and even then they're too busy looking to stop us from invading to try and hit us on our own ground"

"Yeah, but when they find out were not invading anything you think they might back off?"

Seela replied for Albert as they finished their burn around the planet and headed for the still active mass relay, blazing cerulean trails.

"You never know with Alliance politics, their more unstable than a Swallow made with paper, those clowns"

"That's a little dark coming from you Sheller, but your right, when you've had people like Harling and Nikanor doing to the talking for your countries, you've gotta wonder what the hell everybody else is doing"

Leeshiy agreed referring to the two most prominent politicians during the Circum-pacific war in 2010 more than a century ago, their names had been immortalised as the leaders that walked through a hostile environment to end the war tearing their nations apart.

Their international respect had not wavered even a century and a half onwards.

"Alright folks, game faces on, were coming into range now, Tiber's out there so their jammed, let's roll out the welcome mat for the _Sand Island_"

The _Sand Island_ was the colony fleet's protective carrier escort, a craft shaped like an old sea faring carrier with its hull sliced off at the sea level and replaced with a stout frustum following the lines of the carrier. A through deck ran parallel to the main flight deck sticking out of the new under belly and the command island had been remounted on the side of the craft, over the top a solid structure that encompassed the entire flight deck turning it into another through deck that slanted off at the end to allow complete in and out access. The encompassing structure itself housed the carrier's energy shield emitter and the main battery, a set of three turrets armed with a triplex of rail guns, a similar set up residing on the underside of the vessel. At regular intervals along the mid-line of the carrier combined missile and laser emplacements made up the_ Sand Island_'s point defence arsenal while the aft end of the carrier's hull housed a bulge in the prismatic shape of the carrier. There lay the ship's gargantuan twin fusion reactors and the engine sub-systems, the carrier itself however was at least four times the size of any sea faring carrier, measuring almost 1.7 Km in length.

The _Sand Island_ was the only Concordat military capital ship on the mission and was now on its way from the dark side of the planet to rendezvous with the alliance frigate patrol which were being obstructed from escape by powerful E-warfare attacks. Airman Tiber Loman, another member of Albert's squadron, in an E-warfare variant of the Swallow was circling the frigates entrapping them in a web of electronic noise they would not be able to break away from.

The three ASF's flitted into the area near the three Alliance frigates where curiously one was transmitting, Leeshiy picked up the transmission and patched it through the squad's squawk room.

"This is Alliance Frigate Vernon, to Concordat ships, you are in violation of Alliance territory, stand down immediately or be fired upon, repeat..."

Albert snorted, the 'Rainbow Swallow' as the E-warfare Swallows were called for the effect they had on radar screens, had the most powerful scrambling units short of a heavier craft. Nobody had ever managed to find a weak point in their screening technique and it was known that the Systems Alliance themselves had attempted to adapt the same technique for their own ECM's.

Apparently they had failed.

"Alliance Frigate Vernon, this is Concordat Naval CV _Sand Island_, your aggressive stance makes that impossible, power down your own weapons or we will do it for you"

Albert smirked hearing the counter from their carrier coming around from the planet now, moving quite fast for a ship that massed about three and a half hundred thousand metric tons of Concordat engineering. Sweeping his ASF into an escort position behind the Vernon and its fellow the Agincourt, as its IFF read, Albert awaited the arrival of the squadron leader, Captain Asiya Nagase.

Quick witted and idealistic their squadron leader was an ace from the years just before the move to space for the Concordat, she wasn't a well known figure amongst the Concordat pilots but those that did well liked her.

Albert wouldn't know he hadn't met her yet, in any case escort duty was a snore so Albert raised Tiber on the Squadron Sqawk room.

"Hey River, how's the stars treating you today?"

Referring to Tiber by his call sign caused no end of pain for the young pilot, while an expert electronics user he was also very into classic science fiction. Hence why the Firefly reference was a bit of a dig on his pride, regardless of other pilots' insistence it was a compliment.

"Why does everybody keep calling me that? I hate it!"

"I asked about the stars not the people River-unless you started listening to that stuff Seela's been listening to"

Albert replied grinning behind his oxygen mask, he loved abusing Tiber's pride even in a serious situation such as this and he could practically feel Tiber's high intensity glare through the canopy.

Without another word the squadron sans lead settled in and listened to the verbal exchange between the Vernon and the Sand Island, being nothing more than threats.

That is until the radio screeched out a universal distress signal on Alliance open channel, everybody was tuned to the open channel so everybody in the air was hearing it.

"This is the Skyllian Defence HQ on Elysium to all Operation Credence elements receiving, invasion of unknown ships confirmed, repeat unknown invasion confirmed, recall to Elysium at best speed, ground forces are already engaged need immediate reinforcement!"

Seconds later the captain of the Sand Island was on the horn.

"All wings stand down, return to base immediately and prepare for combat engagement, repeat RTB and prepare for combat"

Albert complied immediately thrusting back towards the Sand Island leaving a two confused frigates with powered down weapons, still on the open channel Albert heard the last of the captain's orders.

"All hands prepare for Space fold jump, we're heading to Elysium"

Albert was more than a little confused by the order, but on the bridge one Major Walker was already answering his questions.

"I know this is a violation of our orders, I know we could care less about that colony at Elysium, but we can't lose sight of what our people are. Our people includes the Systems Alliance citizens, they have spit on our collective prides in the past but we're not going to play their petty game, I'm a Belkan. You people can understand what I mean when I talk about pride, but I'm about to sit by and follow the example of the bastards that called themselves the Grey Men, because we aren't Grey Men, were men and women. We are our nations' Osea, Yuktobania, Belka and Usea's finest and we won't leave our people to die!"

Major Walker's words had been put through the Open channel, every pilot heard him, every crew member heard him, every man, woman and child on Keinork head his words.

And they all cheered.

The crew of the two frigates were still stupefied by the sudden change in hostilities.

"Captains of the Vernon and the Agincourt this is Sand Island Actual, jamming has been lifted, are you not going to respond to that hail?"

Quipped the Major through the radio as the Sand Island began to jump, where it had been moments before the Sand Island disappeared in a flash of light.


End file.
